Agenda and minutes

(1)       Apologies were received from Mr Carter, Leader & Cabinet Member for Business Strategy, Audit and Transformation.

(2)       Mr Simmonds, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Procurement took the Chair in his absence.

–report ofMr PaulCarter, Leader& CabinetMember forBusinessand Transformationand DavidCockburn,Head ofPaid Service)

(1)     Cabinet receiveda reportsetting outa proposedrealignment of seniorposts atKent CountyCouncil,prior tothestart ofa formalconsultationwith seniorstaffaffected andotherkey stakeholdersand partner organisations.

(2)     TheDeputyLeaderintroducedtheitemon behalfoftheleadmember,Mr Carterwho could notattend.In particularhe referred to thefollowing:

(i)         Thatthetransformationagenda wasnow underway.  Full councilhad metand endorsedtheplan.

(ii)     Thatthetransformationagendahadfive key principles

                   •        Integrationofservicesaroundthe clientgroups

                   •        A singlecouncilapproachto projectsandprogrammereview

                   •        Activelyengaging themarket forsolutionswhereappropriate

                   •        Creatingviable businessesfromtradingservices

                   •        Embeddingcommissioningauthorityarrangements.

(iii)   Thattheprogrammewas notabout“cuts” or“outsourcing”that infact itwas aboutmanaging demandandlookingat thebest ways ofrunningservices.  He reportedthatwhere outsourcing hadalreadybeenutilised ithadworked wellfor examplein Highways.

(iv)   Thattherealignmentofdemandwould involvesenior managersworkingalong three mainthemes:

•        Marketengagementand servicereview

•        Integrationand serviceredesign

•        Concept ofmanagingchange better

(i)    Thesuccessofthetransformationwould, toa largeextent, rely  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

– report of the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Procurement and Andy Wood, Corporate Director for Finance and Procurement)

Cabinetreceiveda reportproviding formembersthe budget positionfor July 2013-14 for boththerevenue and thecapital budget.  Thereportalso includedanupdateon keyactivity.

TheDeputy Cabinet Member,Miss SusanCarey wasin attendanceto introducethe itemfor members.  Sheexplained thatshe wasdeputising fortheDeputy Leaderon thisoccasionas hedeputisedfor MrCarter inthe Chairand reportedthefollowing in relation to the revenuebudget:

(i)  Thatan underspendof£3.67millionwas currentlypredicted forthe end ofthe

2013-14financial yearbut was expectedto increaseto £4.475millionfollowing plannedmanagementactivityand roll forwards.

(ii)Thatsignificantfinancial pressures continuedin SpecialistChildren’sServices, ofwhich thecost ofsupportingunaccompaniedasylum seekingchildrenwho had exhaustedall rightsofappealremaineda significantone.

(iii)Changes tothe Hometo schooltransportpolicyhad shown a reductionin costs and itwas hopedthat thiswould continuehowever predictingneedfor thiskind ofserviceswasdifficult.

(iv)Thatsome of the NHSfundingrecently receivedin relationto socialcare supportwould beusedto supportthe budget whenit wouldbe under additionalwinter pressures.

(v)Measures takento stop commercialwaste beingprocessed byhousehold wasterecyclingcentr  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

  – report of the Cabinet Member for Education and Health Reform, Mr Roger Gough and Patrick Leeson, Corporate Director for Education, Learning and Skills)

(1)     Cabinet receiveda reportcontainingthe 2013-18commissioning planand seeking agreementtoits adoption.   TheCabinetMemberforEducationandHealthReform, MrRoger Gough introducedthereportformembersandmadethefollowing comments:

(i)     Thattheplan wasupdatedannuallyand hadbeen updated sinceCabinet adoptedan earlierplana year ago.During that yearthe Councilhad delivereda large increasein placesavailable fortheSeptember2013 intake andthe wayin whichthis had beendoneamountedto a ‘stepchange’in terms oftheamount of investmentrequired inorder to deliver adequate schoolplaces.

(ii)   Thatpressures continuedto increase.Births werepredicted at 18000for 2013, 3500 morethan ten yearsago.

(iii)          Thatchangesto localpopulationswere alsoanalysed, alongsidepredicted birthrates,but wereharderto predict,particularlywhere theywere a resultof housingdevelopmentsor changesin the compositionofthe populationofan area.

(iv)                 Howeverhe reportedthat the forecastingrecord todate had been goodand this gavehim confidence fordeliveryin thefuture.

(v)   Thattargetsfor permanentplaces forprimary schoolchildrenwere set at40 newentry formsin thenext twoyears, a further22 newentry formsthe year after and continuingpressurein theyears thatfollow

(vi)                 Dem  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

  – report of David Whittle, Head of Policy and Strategic Relationships and Richard Hallett, Head of Business Intelligence)

(1)       Cabinet receiveda reportsetting out forconsideration the potentialimpactfor Kentof theendingoftransitionalarrangementsforBulgarian andRomaniannationalson1 January2014, as requestat ameetingofCabinetinApril 2013.

(2)       Mr Simmondsbrieflyintroducedthereport, heremindedmembersthat thereportdid not seektoaddressor commentuponanyissues ofEuropean ornationalpolicy but sought toidentifywhat theimpacton Kent’spublicservices mightbe when the arrangementscame toan end.

(3)       Mr WhittleandMr Hallettwere inattendanceto talkto theitem.  Mr Whittlemadethe following remarks:

(i)     Thatpredictingmigration patternswas adifficulttask.  Thegovernmenthad decided not to releaseits ownpredictions.

(ii)   Thatthereportforconsiderationwas astrongand balancedreportand had involvedcollaborationwith a widerange ofpartners.  He welcomedcomments maderecently bya memberofNationalInstituteofEconomicand Social Researchsupportingthe workundertaken.

(iii)          The report attempted toidentifythe potential levelsof migrationand the potentialimpactthis predictedmigration mighthave on public services.

(iv)                 Thetransitionalarrangementsallowed Bulgarianand Romaniannationalsto live  in  Britain  already,  in  addition,  in  certain  circumstances  those  people alreadylivingin  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

  - report of Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, Mr David Brazier and Mike Austerberry, Corporate Director for Environment)

(1)     Cabinet received a report seeking endorsement of the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2013–30 for agreement by County Council and submission to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

(2)     The Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment introduced the report for members and reported that:

(i)        That the adoption of a framework was a statutory requirement and related to the councils approach to finding minerals and disposing of waste.

(ii)       That the document had been the subject of various consultations and cross party involvement throughout its life and that a further consultation would be undertaken in the near future.

(iii)      The framework did not include site information but those plans would follow its adoption.

(3)     Mr Crick, Director of Planning and Environment and Mr Prosser, Minerals and Waste Planning Policy Manager were in attendance to speak to the item.  They drew the attention of members to the following:

(i)        That the document was the product of several years work and various consultations on direction. 

(ii)       It would be examined in public by the secretary of state following the agreement of County Council to submit it and a further final consultation

(iii)      That the approximate date for adoption was scheduled for April 2015.

(iv)      The Framework would provide a firm base for determining planning applications in the future and protection for those sites where no further developmentwas desirable.